Jintotolo, Philippines
The home of my fiancées ancestors
In the late 1800s the ownership of Jintotolo Island was ceded to the Municipal President of Pulanduta - Vidal Bacolod - after the end of Spanish occupation.
Today, the Bacolod family mostly still live on Jintotolo Island, however, Jane Bacolod Wescott (Vidal’s great granddaughter) was born and raised in England. Jane has visited the island every year of her life (besides lockdown) and Jane’s heart belongs to Jintotolo.
Jane and her family constantly endeavour to give back to the island. As an Advanced Clinical Practitioner for NHS England, Jane has been donating medical supplies, performing check ups and spreading health education her whole adult life.
In 2022 I joined the Bacolod-Wescott Family. Since my first day on the Island in April 2023 I was overwhelmed by how special this island and its people are and immediately wanted to be a part of it in whatever way I could. As Jane’s asawa and a Family Medicine Doctor I jumped into the medical outreach work she was already doing.
There is no doctor on Jintotolo and no pharmacy. Many of its residents are unable to get help from medical services on the mainland. There are high levels of undiagnosed and untreated diabetes and hypertension on the island leading to morbidity and mortality. It is my belief that with education and simple medical management the rates of cardiovascular disease on Jintotolo can be curtailed.
Forgive my attire in some of the photos, I rarely work in swimwear in the UK
My work
Due to the lack of education and easily accessible clean water, much of the island lives on sugary soft drinks. Using donated glucometers and my own equipment I have found huge numbers of undiagnosed diabetes and high blood pressure.
On the island there is a tiny shop run by a member of the family. Through back channels, the shop has access to metformin, amlodipine and losartan. I write “prescriptions” which people can fill very affordably.
If you are interested in learning more please see the social media profiles where I have documented some of what I do. Alternatively, ask me directly, I could talk about Jintotolo all day!
Hiligaynon
Hiligaynon is the little known dialect spoken on the island. I have searched for a Hiligaynon-English dictionary but it doesn’t seem to have been written down and disseminated.
The closest we can find is Illonggo which fortunately is on google translate! It was using google translate I made these leaflets which most people can understand. I printed a stack and brought them to the island.
There is a lot of illiteracy on the island but we found most families will have one person who can understand the information.